Members of the Los Alamos Public Safety Association (LAPSA) took part in a March 30 Tactical Communications Training Seminar. From left, LAPSA Vice President and Senior Emergency Management/Security Administrator Rodney Roberson of the Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office, LAPSA President and Behavioral Health Response Team Coordinator Alice Bodelson of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), presenter Lt. Scott Tillema, LAPSA Secretary and Security Specialist Donna Martinez of Protective Force Operations, Defense Security Program at LANL and LAPSA member and Director Jesse Galvan of Protective Force Operations and Training, Centerra – Los Alamos. Courtesy/LAPSA
LAPSA News:
Members of the Los Alamos Public Safety Association (LAPSA) joined other New Mexico first responders and law enforcement officers March 30 for a day of tactical communications training.
The event was attended by more than 50 participants from around the state. Participants learned the key elements of negotiation excellence through case debriefing, applied exercises, and a dynamic presentation by Scott Tillema, an internationally recognized hostage negotiations expert, who provided the training free of charge.
Lt. Tillema, an FBI-trained hostage negotiator with 19 years of police experience with a Chicago-area Police Department shared actionable techniques for using verbal influence and interpersonal skill to reach peaceful solutions in high risk calls for service. His presentation drew on extensive formal negotiations training as well as experience gained during his seven years working as a lead negotiator with one of the largest multi-jurisdictional municipal SWAT teams in the United States.
In addition to learning practical, relevant negotiation skills, LAPSA members had the opportunity to network with first responders from around the state.
Local sponsors for the event included the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department Regional Law Enforcement Academy and The Aspen Project, an Albuquerque based non-profit that seeks to positively impact the community by strengthening the family unit through mentoring, parenting classes, and adoption and foster care support.